Elicura Chihuailaf
Photo: Gonzalo Donoso
Elicura Chihuailaf is a definitive voice of contemporary Mapuche poetry. He writes in both Mapuzugun and Spanish, and he has translated works by other poets, such as Pablo Neruda, into Mapuzugun. His published works include En el país de la memoria (1988), El invierno, su imagen y otros poemas azules (1991), and De sueños azules y contrasueños (1995), Recado confidencial a los chilenos (1999), Kallfv (2006), A orillas de un sueño azul (2010), La vida es una nube azul (2019), and El azul del tiempo que nos sueña (2020). In 2020, he was awarded the National Literature Prize of Chile, becoming the first Mapuche writer to receive this honor. He has been referred to as the lonko, or headman, of present-day Mapuche poetry.
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Yes, who can doubt it? / They tell me: Water is Life / But what does Water do / without the Air? / But what can the Air / and Water do without the Earth? -
On September 1, 2020, Mapuche poet, author, and activist Elicura Chihuailaf became the first indigenous writer to receive Chile’s National Prize for Literature. This recognition marks an important tur... -
The rains touch the strings / of his air / and, above, he is the chorus that utters / the sound of fertility / There were many animals, he is saying / woods, lakes, birds good words / I walk on with m... -
"At night we hear songs, stories, and prophecies around the fire breathing the aroma of bread baked by my grandma, my mother or Auntie María, while my father and my grandpa Lonko (chief of the communi... -
I am withered grass / waving at the rain / but soon I feel the first drops / falling on the fields / Let this water soak me!
